There are a variety of situations in which it is desirable or necessary to determine or track the position of an individual or object. There are a variety of approaches that have been proposed or implemented to provide information regarding a position of a person or object.
Most systems utilize tags that are secured to an object of interest or carried or worn by an individual. The tag may communicate with monitoring equipment using Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi), infrared, ultrasonic or other radio frequency communication techniques. One drawback associated with such systems is that they might require cooperation from those who will be monitored. An individual typically has to have a tag or else that individual cannot be located or tracked. Similarly, an object typically has to have a tag attached or information regarding its position might not be available.
Another drawback is that such systems might provide limited accuracy. Typically location information is only as certain as an indication of presence within a room. There typically is very limited or no ability to tell with any certainty where the person or object is inside that room.
Other location systems use video information to determine the location or movement of an individual. While such systems can provide better accuracy and do not require cooperation, they present other challenges. One drawback of video-based systems is that individuals who have to be monitored may have less privacy or otherwise may feel uncomfortable. Another limitation of video-based systems is that they require adequate lighting for any information to be available.